Information processing apparatus and non-transitory computer readable medium

ABSTRACT

Information processing apparatus including a processor configured to acquire a document image representing one of multiple documents, a partial image representing a part included in the document image and having a character written in the document, and a character recognition result regarding the character. The character recognition result includes a first character recognition result regarding a first character and a second character recognition result regarding a second character. The processor is configured to display the first document image, the first character recognition result, and a first partial image associated with the first character recognition result on a document basis in a first display mode. The processor is further configured to, in a second display mode, display the second character recognition result and a second partial image associated with the second character recognition result on a basis of a character common to the multiple documents and not display the document image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2020-007032 filed Jan. 20, 2020.

BACKGROUND (i) Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatusand a non-transitory computer readable medium.

(ii) Related Art

There is a technology for digitizing a document. For example, JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 5-266247 describes a datageneration technology based on separation of a slip having apredetermined entry made in a form into a fixed-pattern part and anentry part.

SUMMARY

In some cases, characters included in a document image are recognized byusing character recognition technology, and thereafter the characterrecognition result is displayed to enable a person to verify thecharacter recognition result. Conceivable character recognition resultdisplay methods are, for example, a method in which results of therecognition of characters written in multiple respective documents aredisplayed on a document basis and a method in which characters writtenin multiple respective documents are recognized and characterrecognition results are collectively displayed on the basis of acharacter common to the multiple documents. It is known that not onlyeach character recognition result but also the corresponding documentimage representing the document is displayed. However, when thecharacter recognition results are displayed on the basis of thecharacter common to the multiple documents, displaying not only thecharacter recognition results but also the document images thereofrequires the acquisition of the document images of the multiplerespective documents and thus lowers the speed of displaying a screen.

Aspects of non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure relate toa configuration having a first display mode and a second display modeand providing an increased speed of displaying a screen as compared witha case where in the second display mode, the results of the recognitionof characters written in the multiple respective documents are displayedon the screen together with document images representing the respectivedocuments. In the first mode, results of the recognition of therespective characters written in the documents are displayed on adocument basis. In the second display mode, the results of therecognition of the characters written in the multiple respectivedocuments are displayed on the basis of a character common to themultiple documents.

Aspects of certain non-limiting embodiments of the present disclosureaddress the features discussed above and/or other features not describedabove. However, aspects of the non-limiting embodiments are not requiredto address the above features, and aspects of the non-limitingembodiments of the present disclosure may not address features describedabove.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus including a processor configured toacquire a document image representing one of multiple documents, apartial image representing a part included in the document image andhaving a character written in the document, and a character recognitionresult regarding the character. The document image includes a firstdocument image and a second document image. The partial image includes afirst partial image and a second partial image. The character includes afirst character included in the first document image and a secondcharacter included in the documents. The character recognition resultincludes a first character recognition result regarding the firstcharacter and a second character recognition result regarding the secondcharacter. The first partial image is associated with the firstcharacter recognition result. The second partial image is associatedwith the second character recognition result. The processor isconfigured to display the first document image, the first characterrecognition result, and the first partial image on a document basis in afirst display mode. The processor is further configured to, in a seconddisplay mode, display the second character recognition result and thesecond partial image on a basis of a character common to the multipledocuments and not display the document image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a characterrecognition system according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a clientapparatus;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating examples of a form image, a documentimage, a partial image, and a character recognition result;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence table;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operations of theclient apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example of a verification screen for anormal display mode; and

FIGS. 7A, 7B, 7C are views each illustrating an example of averification screen for a multi-document display mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 1. Configuration

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of a characterrecognition system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. Thecharacter recognition system 100 is a system enabling a user to verifythe result of the recognition of a character included in an imagerepresenting a document. In the case of a wrong character recognitionresult, the user may correct the character recognition result. After theverification by the user, the character recognition result may bestored. The term “character” is not limited to a character of a languageand includes a numerical value and a symbol. The character recognitionsystem 100 includes a client apparatus 110 and a server apparatus 120.These apparatuses are connected by using a communication network 130.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of the clientapparatus 110. The client apparatus 110 has multiple image processingfunctions such as a copying function, a printing function, a scanningfunction, and a faxing function. The client apparatus 110 provides theserver apparatus 120 with an image obtained by scanning a document. Theclient apparatus 110 provides the user with the results of therecognition of characters included in the image by the server apparatus120. The client apparatus 110 is an example of an information processingapparatus according to the present disclosure. The client apparatus 110includes a processor 111, a memory 112, a communication unit 113, anoperation unit 114, a display 115, an image reading unit 116, and animage forming unit 117. These units are connected with a bus 118interposed therebetween.

The processor 111 runs a program and thereby controls the units of theclient apparatus 110 and executes various processes. As the processor111, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) may be used. Thememory 112 stores the program run by the processor 111. As the memory112, for example, a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory(RAM) may be used. The memory 112 stores a program for implementing afunction enabling the user to verify a character recognition result. Thememory 112 may also store a web browser. In this case, data exchange maybe performed between the client apparatus 110 and the server apparatus120 via the web browser. The communication unit 113 performs datacommunication with a different apparatus connected with thecommunication network 130 interposed therebetween. The operation unit114 is used for operations performed by the user on the client apparatus110. For example, a touch panel and keys may be used for the operationunit 114. The display 115 displays various pieces of information. Forexample, a liquid crystal display may be used for the display 115. Theimage reading unit 116 reads an image and converts the image to imagedata. For example, an image scanner may be used for the image readingunit 116. The image forming unit 117 forms an image corresponding to theimage data on the medium such as a sheet. For example, a printer may beused for the image forming unit 117.

The server apparatus 120 executes a character recognition process ondocument images 150 provided by the client apparatus 110 and providesthe client apparatus 110 with the result of the character recognition.The server apparatus 120 stores form images 140, the document images150, partial images 160, character recognition results 170, and acorrespondence table 180.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating examples of a form image 140, adocument image 150, a partial image 160, and a character recognitionresult 170. In these examples, the form image 140 includes form images141, 142, and 143. The form images 141 to 143 are images respectivelyrepresenting the forms of documents that are Document A, Document B, andDocument C. In other words, the form images 141 to 143 each represent ablank document prior to an entry of a character. These documents haverespective predetermined formats. The form image 141 includes preprintedguidelines 1411 and 1412 in the respective predetermined ranges. Awriter makes entries in the respective preprinted guidelines 1411 and1412. However, the form image 141 represents a state before the writerwrites characters and thus does not describe the characters in thepreprinted guidelines 1411 and 1412. Likewise, the form images 142 and143 respectively include preprinted guidelines 1421 and 1431 similar tothe preprinted guideline 1412. However, the form images 142 and 143 eachrepresent a state before a writer writes a character and thus do notdescribe the character in a corresponding one of the preprintedguidelines 1421 and 1431. The form image 140 is an example of adifferent document image according to the present disclosure.

The document image 150 includes document images 151, 152, and 153. Thedocument images 151 to 153 respectively represent the documents“Document A” to “Document C” having characters written therein. Thedocument images 151 to 153 may each be an image representing theentirety of the corresponding document. If the document has multiplepages, the document images 151 to 153 may be images each representingone of the pages of the document. For example, the form image 141 isformed on the sheet, and thereby a form is generated. A first writerhandwrites characters in the preprinted guidelines 1411 and 1412 of theform. The form is scanned, and thereby the document image 151 isobtained. Note that the way of writing the characters is not limited tothe handwriting and may be printing. Likewise, a second writer and athird writer respectively handwrite characters in the preprintedguidelines 1421 and 1431 of the respective forms generated by formingthe form images 142 and 143 on the respective sheets. The forms arescanned, and thereby the document images 152 and 153 are obtained.

The partial image 160 includes partial images 161, 162, 163, and 164.The partial images 161 to 164 each represent a part having a least onewritten character in a corresponding one of the document images 151 to153. The partial images 161 to 164 are each generated by cutting out thepart having the written character from the corresponding one of thedocument images 151 to 153. For example, the partial images 161 and 162are each generated by cutting out parts corresponding to the preprintedguidelines 1411 and 1412 from the document image 151. Likewise, thepartial images 163 and 164 are respectively generated by cutting outparts corresponding to the preprinted guidelines 1421 and 1431 from thedocument images 152 and 153. The server apparatus 120 has a protrusiondetection function of detecting protrusion of a character from thepreprinted guideline. The protrusion detection function is implementedby, for example, a known method. If protrusion is detected by theprotrusion detection function, the partial image 160 may be generated bycutting out the part having the character written in the document image150 in a wider range than that of the preprinted guideline. Accordingly,when a character protrudes from the preprinted guideline, a protrudingpart of the character protruding from the preprinted guideline isincluded in the partial image 160.

The character recognition result 170 includes character recognitionresults 171, 172, 173, and 174. The character recognition results 171 to174 each represent the result of the recognition of the characterincluded in the corresponding one of the document images 151 to 153. Thedocument images 151 to 153 undergo the character recognition process inaccordance with the respective formats of the document images 151 to153. For the character recognition process, for example, opticalcharacter recognition (OCR) may be used. For example, the characterrecognition results 171 and 172 are respectively obtained by recognizingthe characters “TARO FUJI” and “2” written in the preprinted guidelines1411 and 1412 of the document image 151. Likewise, the characterrecognition results 173 and 174 are respectively obtained by recognizingthe character “2” written in the preprinted guidelines 1421 and 1431 ofthe respective document images 152 and 153.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence table180. The correspondence table 180 includes a document image ID, a formimage ID, a partial image ID, positional information, and a characterrecognition result ID. The document image ID is information uniquelyidentifying the document image 150. The form image ID is informationuniquely identifying the form image 140. The partial image ID isinformation uniquely identifying the partial image 160. The positionalinformation is information indicating the position of the partial image160 in the document image 150. For the positional information,information uniquely identifying a preprinted guideline for the partialimage 160 may be used. However, the positional information is notlimited to the information uniquely identifying a preprinted guidelineand may be the position coordinates of the partial image 160 in thedocument image 150. The character recognition result ID is informationuniquely identifying the character recognition result 170.

In the correspondence table 180 illustrated in FIG. 4, the documentimage ID of the document image 151 is associated with the form image IDof the form image 141, the partial image IDs of the partial images 161and 162, the preprinted guideline IDs of the preprinted guidelines 1411and 1412, and the character recognition result IDs of the characterrecognition results 171 and 172. This indicates the following.Specifically, the form image 141 is an image representing the document“Document A” prior to entries of the characters, the document image 151includes the partial images 161 and 162, and the character recognitionresults 171 and 172 are obtained by recognizing the characters includedin the document image 151. The partial image ID of the partial image 161is associated with positional information indicating the preprintedguideline 1411. This indicates that the partial image 161 is located inthe preprinted guideline 1411 in the document image 151.

The character recognition result 170 stored in the server apparatus 120is verified by the user by using the client apparatus 110. At this time,the method for displaying the character recognition result 170 by theclient apparatus 110 includes a normal display mode and a multi-documentdisplay mode.

The normal display mode is a display mode in which the characterrecognition result 170 is displayed on a document basis. In the normaldisplay mode, the document image 150 representing a target document, thecharacter recognition result 170 regarding at least one characterincluded in the document image 150, and the partial image 160 associatedwith the character recognition result 170 are displayed on the documentbasis. The normal display mode is used, for example, to verify theconsistency of the character recognition result 170 in one document. Thenormal display mode is an example of a first display mode according tothe present disclosure. The document image 150, the characterrecognition result 170, and the partial image 160 that are displayed inthe normal display mode are respectively examples of a first documentimage, a first character recognition result, and a first partial imageaccording to the present disclosure.

The multi-document display mode is a display mode in which the multiplecharacter recognition results 170 common to multiple documents arecollectively displayed on the basis of a character common to themultiple documents. In the multi-document display mode, the characterrecognition results 170 regarding the characters in the multipledocuments are each displayed together with the partial image 160associated with the corresponding character recognition result 170 onthe basis of a character common to the multiple documents, butbasically, the document image 150 is not displayed. The common characterincludes, for example, a symbol indicating that verification has beenperformed, a symbol indicating that verification has not been performed,an identical numerical value, and an identical character. Themulti-document display mode is used, for example, to quickly andefficiently verify the character recognition result 170 common to themultiple documents. The multi-document display mode is an example of asecond display mode according to the present disclosure. The characterrecognition result 170 and the partial image 160 that are displayed inthe multi-document display mode are examples of a second characterrecognition result and a second partial image according to the presentdisclosure.

2. Operation

In the description below, processing performed by the processor 111mainly denotes processing performed in such a manner that the processor111 performs arithmetic operations or controls the operation of adifferent hardware element in cooperation between programs stored in thememory 112 and the processor 111 running the programs.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operations of theclient apparatus 110 according to this exemplary embodiment. Theoperation is performed when the user verifies the character recognitionresults 170 stored in the server apparatus 120.

In step S11, the processor 111 selects multiple documents in accordancewith an operation performed by the user. For example, to verify thecharacter recognition results 170 for the characters included in thedocuments “Document A” to “Document C” illustrated in FIG. 3, the userperforms an operation for selecting the documents “Document A” to“Document C” by using the operation unit 114. In accordance with thisoperation, the documents “Document A” to “Document C” are selected.

In step S12, in accordance with an operation by the user, the processor111 selects whether the character recognition results 170 are to bedisplayed in the normal display mode or in the multi-document displaymode. For example, if the user performs an operation for selecting thenormal display mode by using the operation unit 114, the normal displaymode is selected in accordance with the operation. In this case, thedetermination result in step S12 is the normal display mode, and theprocessing proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the processor 111 acquires the document image 150 of thetarget document from the server apparatus 120. The target document isone of the multiple documents selected in step S11. For example, thetarget document may be the first one of the documents selected in stepS11 or may be a document selected in accordance with an operation by theuser from the multiple documents selected in step S11. Specifically, theprocessor 111 transmits, from the communication unit 113 to the serverapparatus 120, a request for acquiring the document image 150 of thetarget document. The server apparatus 120 transmits the document image150 to the client apparatus 110 in response to the acquisition request.The processor 111 receives the document image 150 transmitted from theserver apparatus 120 at the communication unit 113.

In step S14, the processor 111 acquires the partial image 160 and thecharacter recognition result 170 regarding the target document from theserver apparatus 120. Specifically, processor 111 transmits, from thecommunication unit 113 to the server apparatus 120, a request foracquiring the partial image 160 and the character recognition result 170regarding the target document. The server apparatus 120 transmits thepartial image 160 and the character recognition result 170 to the clientapparatus 110 in response to the acquisition request. The processor 111receives the partial image 160 and the character recognition result 170transmitted from the server apparatus 120 at the communication unit 113.The target document is herein the document “Document A” illustrated inFIG. 3. In the correspondence table 180 illustrated in FIG. 4, thedocument image ID of the document image 151 representing the document“Document A” is associated with the partial image IDs of the partialimages 161 and 162 and the character recognition result IDs of thecharacter recognition results 171 and 172. In this case, the partialimages 161 and 162 and the character recognition results 171 and 172 areacquired.

In step S15, the processor 111 displays a verification screen 200 in thenormal display mode on the display 115 on the basis of the documentimage 150, the partial image 160, and the character recognition result170 regarding the target document acquired in steps S13 and S14.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example of the verification screen 200in the normal display mode. In this case, the document image 151 isacquired in step S13, and the partial images 161 and 162 and thecharacter recognition results 171 and 172 are acquired in step S14. Theverification screen 200 is divided into a pane 201 and a pane 202. Thedocument image 151 is displayed in the pane 201. In the pane 202, thepartial image 161, the character recognition result 171, the partialimage 162, and the character recognition result 172 are displayed at therespective positions. The user looks at the verification screen 200 andverifies the character recognition results 171 and 172 regarding thecharacters included in the document image 151 in such a manner as torefer to the entire document image 151 of the document “Document A” andto make a comparison with the partial images 161 and 162 respectivelyrepresenting the parts where the characters are written.

For example, if the user performs an operation for changing the targetdocument from the document “Document A” to a different document by usingthe operation unit 114 after the verification screen 200 illustrated inFIG. 6 is displayed, step S13 and subsequent steps may be performed onthe changed document.

In contrast, for example, if the user performs an operation forselecting the multi-document display mode by using the operation unit114 in step S12 described above, the multi-document display mode isselected in accordance with the operation. In this case, thedetermination result in step S12 is the multi-document display mode, andthe processing proceeds to step S16. At this time, the user performs anoperation for setting a displaying condition by using the operation unit114. For example, if the user wishes to verify only the results ofcharacter recognition of the character “2”, a displaying conditionindicating the inclusion of the character “2” is set.

In step S16, the processor 111 acquires, from the server apparatus 120,the partial image 160 and the character recognition result 170 thatcorrespond to any of the multiple documents selected in step S11 andsatisfy the displaying condition. A specific acquisition method is thesame as that in step S14 described above. In this case, the displayingcondition indicating that the documents selected in step S11 are thedocuments “Document A” to “Document C” and that the character “2” isincluded is set. In the correspondence table 180 illustrated in FIG. 4,the document image IDs of the document images 151 to 153 representingthe documents “Document A” to “Document C” are associated with thecharacter recognition result IDs of the character recognition results171 to 174 and the partial image IDs of the partial images 161 to 164.In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the character recognition result171 does not include the character “2”, and the character recognitionresults 172 to 174 include the character “2”. Further, in thecorrespondence table 180 illustrated in FIG. 4, the characterrecognition result IDs of the character recognition results 172 to 174are associated with the partial image IDs of the partial images 162 to164. In this case, the character recognition results 172 to 174 and thepartial images 162 to 164 are acquired.

In step S17, the processor 111 displays a verification screen 210 in themulti-document display mode on the display 115 on the basis of thepartial image 160 and the character recognition result 170 that areacquired in step S16. At this time, the processor 111 does not displaythe document image 150, unlike the verification screen 200 illustratedin FIG. 6.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are views each illustrating an example of theverification screen 210 in the multi-document display mode. In thiscase, the character recognition results 172 to 174 and the partialimages 162 to 164 are acquired in step S16. In step S17, theverification screen 210 illustrated in FIG. 7A is displayed. Theverification screen 210 is divided into a pane 211 and a pane 212. Inthe verification screen 210 illustrated in FIG. 7A, any image is not inthe pane 211. In the pane 212, the partial image 162, the characterrecognition result 172, the partial image 163, the character recognitionresult 173, the partial image 164, and the character recognition result174 that are acquired in step S16 are displayed at the respectivepositions. The character recognition results 172 to 174 each indicatethe result of the recognition of the character “2”. The user looks atthe verification screen 210 and thereby verifies the characterrecognition results 172 to 174 in such a manner as to make a comparisonwith the partial images 162 to 164 respectively representing the partswhere the character “2” included in the documents “Document A” to“Document C” is written.

In step S18, the processor 111 determines whether the displaying of theform image 140 is designated. For example, if the user performs anoperation for selecting any of the partial images 160 by using theoperation unit 114 on the verification screen 210 displayed in step S17,it is determined that the displaying of the form image 140 of the targetdocument associated with the selected partial image 160 is designated.For example, if a wrong character recognition result 172 on theverification screen 210 illustrated in FIG. 7A is found and thus leadsto the need for verifying descriptions around the character recognitionresult 172, the user may perform an operation for selecting the partialimage 162. The operation for selecting the partial image 162 may be, forexample, an operation for selecting a range including the partial image162 and the character recognition result 172. If the displaying of theform image 140 is not designated, the determination result in step S18is NO, and then the processing is terminated. In contrast, if thedisplaying of the form image 140 is designated, the determination resultin step S18 is YES, and the processing proceeds to step S19.

In step S19, the processor 111 acquires, from the server apparatus 120,the form image 140 and the positional information regarding the selectedpartial image 160 of the target document. Specifically, the processor111 transmits, from the communication unit 113 to the server apparatus120, a request for acquiring the form image 140 of the target documentand the positional information regarding the selected partial image 160.The server apparatus 120 transmits the form image 140 and the positionalinformation to the client apparatus 110 in response to the acquisitionrequest. The processor 111 receives the form image 140 transmitted fromthe server apparatus 120 and the positional information at thecommunication unit 113. In this case, an operation for selecting thepartial image 162 is performed on the verification screen 210illustrated in 7A. In this case, the document “Document A” is the targetdocument. In the correspondence table 180 illustrated in FIG. 4, thepartial image ID of the partial image 162 is associated with the formimage ID of the form image 141 and the positional information indicatingthe preprinted guideline 1412. In this case, the form image 141 and thepositional information indicating the preprinted guideline 1412 areacquired.

In step S20, the processor 111 displays the form image 140 of the targetdocument on the verification screen 210. At this time, in thedisplaying, the processor 111 superimposes the target partial image 160on the form image 140 of the target document on the basis of thepositional information acquired in step S19. In this case, asillustrated in FIG. 7B, the form image 141 representing the state of thedocument “Document A” prior to the entries of the characters isdisplayed in the pane 211 of the verification screen 210. In thedisplaying of the form image 141, the partial image 162 is superimposedon the preprinted guideline 1412 at the position indicated by thepositional information regarding the preprinted guideline 1412. In otherwords, mapping of the partial image 162 on the form image 141 isperformed in accordance with the positional information, and the partialimage 162 is displayed in the form image 141. The user looks at theverification screen 210 and thereby verifies the character recognitionresult 172 representing the character “2” in such a manner as to referto the form image 141 of the document “Document A” and the partial image162 representing the part where the character is written in thedocument. Note that the document image 150 is not displayed in theverification screen 210 illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Since theverification screen 210 displayed in the multi-document display mode isused to quickly and efficiently verify the character recognition result170 common to the multiple documents, it is thus considered that thedocument image 150 does not have to be displayed.

In step S21, the processor 111 determines whether the displaying of thedocument image 150 of the target document is designated. For example, ifthe user performs an operation for selecting the partial image 160included in the pane 211 on the verification screen 210 displayed instep S20 by using the operation unit 114, it is determined that thedisplaying of the document image 150 of the target document isdesignated. For example, if an error is considered to have occurred onthe character recognition result 172 because a character protrudes fromthe preprinted guideline to a large degree on the verification screen210 illustrated in 7B, it is considered to be desirable to look at theentire document image 151 representing the target document to correctthe character recognition result 172. In the case as described above, anoperation for selecting the partial image 162 included in the pane 211may be performed on the verification screen 210 illustrated in 7B. Ifthe displaying of the document image 150 is not designated, thedetermination result in step S21 is NO, and then the processing isterminated. In contrast, if the displaying of the document image 150 isdesignated, the determination result in step S21 is YES, and theprocessing proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the processor 111 acquires the document image 150 of thetarget document from the server apparatus 120. A specific acquisitionmethod is the same as that in step S13 described above. In this case,the partial image 162 included in the pane 211 is selected on theverification screen 210 illustrated in 7B. In the correspondence table180 illustrated in FIG. 4, the partial image ID of the partial image 162is associated with the document image ID of the document image 151. Inthis case, the document image 151 is acquired.

In step S23, the processor 111 displays the document image 150 acquiredin step S22 on the verification screen 210. The document image 150 is anexample of a second document image according to the present disclosure.In this case, the document image 151 is acquired in step S22. In thiscase, as illustrated in FIG. 7C, the document image 151 is displayed inthe pane 211 of the verification screen 210, instead of the form image141 and the partial image 162 illustrated in 7B. The user looks at theverification screen 210 and verifies the character recognition result172 regarding the character “2” included in the document in such amanner as to refer to the entire document image 151 representing thedocument “Document A”.

If the user performs an operation for changing the displaying conditionafter the verification screen 210 illustrated in at least one of FIGS.7A to 7C is displayed, step S16 and the subsequent steps may beperformed in accordance with the changed displaying condition. If theuser performs an operation for selecting a different one of the partialimages 160 included in the verification screen 210 on the verificationscreen 210 illustrated in FIG. 7B, a document associated with thedifferent partial image 160 becomes a target document, and step S19 andthe subsequent steps may be performed on the new target document.

According to the exemplary embodiment described above, in themulti-document display mode, the partial image 160 and the characterrecognition result 170 are acquired, but the document image 150 is notacquired unless otherwise requested by the user. Time taken to acquiredata from the server apparatus 120 is thus reduced as compared with thenormal display mode. In addition, in the multi-document display mode,the document image 150 is not displayed unless otherwise requested bythe user, the amount of data required for the displaying and the amountof the drawing the verification screen 210 are reduced as compared withthe normal display mode. The speed of displaying the verification screen210 is thus increased in the multi-document display mode as comparedwith a case where the results of the recognition of the characterswritten in the multiple respective documents are displayed together withthe document images 150 representing the documents on the verificationscreen 210. As the result, the operability for the user is improved.

Further, the form image 140 and the partial image 160 superimposed onthe form image 140 are displayed in accordance with the operation by theuser in the multi-document display mode, and thus the content of thetarget document is verified together with the format of the targetdocument, as occasion demands. Further, the document image 150 insteadof the form image 140 is displayed in accordance with the operation bythe user in the multi-document display mode, and thus the document image150 representing a document having a written character is verifiedinstead of the form image 140 representing the document without thewritten character, as occasion demands.

3. Modifications

The exemplary embodiment described above is an example of the presentdisclosure. The present disclosure is not limited to the exemplaryembodiment above. The exemplary embodiment above may be implementedafter being modified as in the following examples. At this time, two ormore modifications below may be used in combination.

In the exemplary embodiment above, if the multi-document display mode isselected, and if any of the documents selected in step S11 includes acharacter satisfying the displaying condition and protruding from thepreprinted guideline, the form image 140 of the document and the partialimage 160 including the protruding character may be displayed in thepane 211 of the verification screen 210 without an operation by theuser. For example, if the character “2” written in the document“Document A” protrudes from the preprinted guideline 1412, the formimage 141 of the document may be acquired, and the form image 141 andthe partial image 162 including the character may be displayed in thepane 211 of the verification screen 210 without an operation by theuser. At this time, the partial image 162 may be generated in such amanner as to be cut out in a wider range than that of the preprintedguideline 1412. In addition, in this case, steps S17 and S18 above donot have to be performed. According to this modification, the characterprotruding from the preprinted guideline is verified together with theformat of the document having the character written therein.

In the exemplary embodiment above, if the multi-document display mode isselected, the partial image 160 is displayed in such a manner as to besuperimposed on the form image 140. However, the partial image 160 doesnot have to be necessarily displayed simultaneously with the form image140. For example, the form image 140 may be displayed first, and thenthe partial image 160 may be displayed on the form image 140 inaccordance with the operation by the user. In addition, if the userperforms an operation for selecting one of the partial images 160 on theverification screen 210, and if a character corresponding to theselected partial image 160 protrudes from the preprinted guideline, thepartial image 160 may be displayed on the form image 140. That is, ifthe user performs the operation for selecting the partial image 160 onthe verification screen 210, but if the character corresponding to theselected partial image 160 does not protrude from the preprintedguideline, the partial image 160 does not have to be displayed on theform image 140.

In the exemplary embodiment above, if the multi-document display mode isselected, and if the character recognition result 170 does not satisfy apredetermined condition indicating that the character recognition issuccessfully performed, the document image 150 may be displayed in thepane 211 of the verification screen 210 without an operation by theuser. For example, if the number of characters protruding from therespective preprinted guidelines or the number of unrecognizedcharacters in the multiple documents selected in step S11 above isgreater than or equal to a threshold, it is determined that thecharacter recognition result 170 does not satisfy the condition, thedocument image 150 representing a one of these documents that isassociated with the character recognition result 170 may be displayed inthe pane 211 of the verification screen 210 without an operation by theuser. The threshold is set as, for example, the minimum value of valuesrepresenting unsuccessfully performed character recognition. In thiscase, steps S17 to S21 above do not have to be performed. According tothis modification, for example, in a case where the characterrecognition result 170 does not satisfy the predetermined condition inthe multi-document display mode such as a case where the number ofcharacter recognition results 170 not satisfying the predeterminedcondition is greater than or equal to a threshold, the document image150 representing the document having the written character is verified.

In the exemplary embodiment above, if the target document has multiplepages, only the document image 150 representing the first page of thetarget document may be acquired in step S13 or S22. In this case, thedocument image 150 representing a page other than the first page of thetarget document may be acquired and displayed, for example, inaccordance with an operation by the user. Likewise, only the form image140 representing the first page of the target document may be acquiredin step S19. The form image 140 representing a page other than the firstpage of the target document may be acquired and displayed, for example,in accordance with an operation by the user.

In the exemplary embodiment above, only one of the verification screen210 illustrated in FIG. 7A and the verification screen 210 illustratedin FIG. 7B may be displayed. The verification screen 210 illustrated inFIG. 7C does not have to be necessarily displayed.

In the exemplary embodiment, the partial image 160 may be combined withthe form image 140 at the position indicated by the positionalinformation regarding the partial image 160. In this case, thecombination processing may be performed by the client apparatus 110 orthe server apparatus 120.

In the exemplary embodiment, the client apparatus 110 does notnecessarily have to have the scanning function. For example, the clientapparatus 110 may be a computer that displays information acquired fromthe server apparatus 120. In this case, scanning of a document may beperformed by an image reading apparatus different from the clientapparatus 110.

In the embodiment above, the term “processor” refers to hardware in abroad sense. Examples of the processor include general processors (e.g.,CPU: Central Processing Unit), and dedicated processors (e.g., GPU:Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit,FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, and programmable logic device).

In the embodiment above, the term “processor” is broad enough toencompass one processor or plural processors in collaboration which arelocated physically apart from each other but may work cooperatively. Theorder of operations of the processor is not limited to one described inthe embodiment above, and may be changed.

In the exemplary embodiment, what performs the processing mainly in thecharacter recognition system 100 is not limited to the example describedin the exemplary embodiment. For example, at least part of processingperformed by the client apparatus 110 may be performed by a differentapparatus.

The present disclosure may be provided as a program run by the clientapparatus 110. The client apparatus 110 is an example of a computeraccording to the present disclosure. The program may be downloaded via acommunication network such as the Internet or may be provided in such amanner as to be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such asa magnetic recording medium (such as a magnetic tape or a magneticdisk), an optical recording medium (such as an optical disk), amagneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the disclosure forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of thedisclosure be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: aprocessor configured to acquire a document image representing one of aplurality of documents, a partial image representing a part included inthe document image and having a character written in the document, and acharacter recognition result regarding the character, the document imageincluding a first document image and a second document image, thepartial image including a first partial image and a second partialimage, the character including a first character included in the firstdocument image and a second character included in the documents, thecharacter recognition result including a first character recognitionresult regarding the first character and a second character recognitionresult regarding the second character, the first partial image beingassociated with the first character recognition result, the secondpartial image being associated with the second character recognitionresult, display the first document image, the first characterrecognition result, and the first partial image on a document basis in afirst display mode, and in a second display mode, display the secondcharacter recognition result and the second partial image on a basis ofa character common to the plurality of documents and not display thedocument image.
 2. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein in the second display mode, the processor furtherdisplays a different document image of the document in a state beforethe second character is written.
 3. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein in the second display mode, the processordisplays the different document image in accordance with an operation bya user.
 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,wherein the processor displays the second partial image in the differentdocument image.
 5. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 3, wherein the processor displays the second partial image in thedifferent document image.
 6. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 4, wherein the processor displays the second partialimage in the different document image in accordance with an operation bya user.
 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,wherein if the second character includes a character protruding from apredetermined range, the processor displays the second partial imageincluding the protruding character.
 8. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the second characterrecognition result does not satisfy a predetermined condition, theprocessor displays the second document image representing the documenthaving the second character written in the document.
 9. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein if the secondcharacter recognition result does not satisfy a predetermined condition,the processor displays the second document image representing thedocument having the second character written in the document.
 10. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein if thesecond character recognition result does not satisfy a predeterminedcondition, the processor displays the second document image representingthe document having the second character written in the document. 11.The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein ifthe second character recognition result does not satisfy a predeterminedcondition, the processor displays the second document image representingthe document having the second character written in the document. 12.The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein ifthe second character recognition result does not satisfy a predeterminedcondition, the processor displays the second document image representingthe document having the second character written in the document. 13.The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein ifthe second character recognition result does not satisfy a predeterminedcondition, the processor displays the second document image representingthe document having the second character written in the document. 14.The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein ifthe second character recognition result does not satisfy a predeterminedcondition, the processor displays the second document image representingthe document having the second character written in the document. 15.The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein if acharacter recognition result corresponding to the second characterrecognition result does not satisfy the predetermined condition, and ifa count of the character recognition result is greater than or equal toa threshold, the processor displays the second document image.
 16. Anon-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing acomputer to execute a process comprising: acquiring a document imagerepresenting one of a plurality of documents, a partial imagerepresenting a part included in the document image and having acharacter written in the document, and a character recognition resultregarding the character, the document image including a first documentimage and a second document image, the partial image including a firstpartial image and a second partial image, the character including afirst character included in the first document image and a secondcharacter included in the documents, the character recognition resultincluding a first character recognition result regarding the firstcharacter and a second character recognition result regarding the secondcharacter, the first partial image being associated with the firstcharacter recognition result, the second partial image being associatedwith the second character recognition result; displaying the firstdocument image, the first character recognition result, and the firstpartial image on a document basis in a first display mode; and in asecond display mode, displaying the second character recognition resultand the second partial image on a basis of a character common to theplurality of documents and not displaying the document image.
 17. Aninformation processing apparatus comprising: means for acquiring adocument image representing one of a plurality of documents, a partialimage representing a part included in the document image and having acharacter written in the document, and a character recognition resultregarding the character, the document image including a first documentimage and a second document image, the partial image including a firstpartial image and a second partial image, the character including afirst character included in the first document image and a secondcharacter included in the documents, the character recognition resultincluding a first character recognition result regarding the firstcharacter and a second character recognition result regarding the secondcharacter, the first partial image being associated with the firstcharacter recognition result, the second partial image being associatedwith the second character recognition result, means for displaying thefirst document image, the first character recognition result, and thefirst partial image on a document basis in a first display mode, andmeans for, in a second display mode, displaying the second characterrecognition result and the second partial image on a basis of acharacter common to the plurality of documents and not displaying thedocument image.